S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 130

Screen Murderer 26 – After Work

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As police officers, everyone became wary of Anna's ex-husband after hearing Zhao Zhen's account – He wanted Anna to disappear? What did that mean? Was this guy actually contemplating killing his wife?

"How did you respond?" Zhan Zhao asked curiously.

Zhao Zhen spread his hands, "What else could I say? I told him his thoughts were dangerous. If a marriage isn't happy, it's wiser to divorce calmly rather than harming each other."

Everyone held back their laughter as they looked at Zhao Zhen – It's rare to see you speak so seriously.

Zhao Zhen also looked up at the sky, "After all, he's my fan, I don't want to see him go astray."

"What happened next?" Everyone urged Zhao Zhen to continue.

Zhao Zhen said, "Hmm, then he said something strange, 'There's no other way, there’s only one invitation', then he hung up the phone, and later I heard about his death."

"Invitation?" Everyone asked him, "What invitation?"

Zhao Zhen shrugged.

Everyone frowned – Look at you, why didn't you ask more questions?

With a smile, Zhao Zhen waved his hand, "Can I go now?"

Everyone was puzzled, "Go where?"

Zhao Zhen pointed at his watch, "Don't you all get off work? Don't you eat? Don’t you have time off?"

Everyone subconsciously glanced at the wall clock, pondering Zhao Zhen's soul-searching questions. The case was at a dead end, the clues didn't connect, and the only option left was to find Chen Gui and Chen Fu. They'd have to wait for the film festival day to see how Wang Meiyun and Anna would play their game.

Bai Yutang told everyone to go home. Ma Han and Jiayi had just gotten engaged, and Zhao Hu and Bai Chi also had their partners, they couldn’t stay at the police station forever, and Luo Tian and Qin Ou had children at home!

After sending everyone away, Jiang Ping, Mia, and Issel were left in the office.

Bai Yutang asked Issel to take Mia home, they could deal with the other work tomorrow.

Zhan Zhao asked Jiang Ping if he wanted to invite his doctor girlfriend for a date, but Jiang Ping sadly said she had dumped him.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at him sympathetically – No way... It ended so quickly.

But Jiang Ping sent a few messages and went to his neighbour Fei Mu's house for dinner and to play games.

After everyone left work, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang turned off the lights in the SCI office and closed the door, stepping into the elevator together.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Cat, should we go out for dinner?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, then suddenly exclaimed, took out his phone and checked, "I saw twins recommending a newly opened restaurant the other day. I wonder if we can get a table."

Bai Yutang glanced at his phone and saw a newly opened seafood restaurant with seemingly good reviews and appealing dishes.

Zhan Zhao made a reservation and received a number. Realising they had to wait about an hour before they could eat, he looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang suggested, "Shall we go shopping while we wait? Isn't there a shopping mall nearby?"

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and asked him, "Going on a date?"

Bai Yutang nodded, "That’s right, they all go on dates, why can't we? Let's shop first, then eat and watch a movie."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted his shoulder, "Work-life balance!"

Zhan Zhao shook his phone, nodding, "Spending money on Zhao Jue and the others before was quite fun. Let's go, let's shop till we drop!"

With that said, the two of them left the elevator together.

The shopping mall wasn't far, and they walked there together.

The shopping mall was bustling after work, and the two of them strolled through.

Once inside the mall, they didn't know what to buy. They didn't lack anything in particular, so they wandered around.

Zhan Zhao found a cake in a dessert shop that looked similar to Luban. They had both seen videos of people cutting pet-shaped cakes for their pets, so they bought one to scare Luban.

After wandering around some more, Zhan Zhao's phone reminded them that it was almost time for their meal.

The two went to eat together.

The restaurant was located on the twentieth floor of a financial building in S City, offering a view of the city's night scene.

Guided by a waiter, they sat at a window seat with an excellent view.

Right opposite the window was a large fish tank as big as a wall, filled with many Arowana. The triangular-shaped fish with long fins swam freely, their reflections dancing on the window at night, making it seem as if the fish were swimming in the city lights.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was fantastic, but they weren't sure about the food.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao ordered their dishes, chatted, and enjoyed the rare leisure time.

At this moment, Bai Yutang stared out of the window and lightly tapped Zhan Zhao's hand.

Zhan Zhao glanced at him.

Bai Yutang gestured towards the window.

Zhan Zhao looked towards the window... and saw that in the reflection of the entrance, three people walked in through the door.

The three of them sat on chairs behind Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, ordered food and drinks, and seemed to be in a good mood.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance, and Zhan Zhao glanced at his own hand.

Bai Yutang's hand was still on his hand, not moving away after the light tap earlier. Now, his fingers were lightly stroking the back of Zhan Zhao's hand.

A tingling sensation spread from Zhan Zhao's hand, as if touching his heart.

Zhan Zhao became interested in human neuroscience – Why can love be felt through touch?

Who were the three people sitting behind Zhan Zhao?

They might not recognise Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, but Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang knew them. All three were executives from the Dong Group.

Earlier, when Wang Meiyun held a press conference, the three of them had caused a disturbance at the scene.

Zhan Zhao gave Bai Yutang a slight smile, as if to say – See, clues will always come when they're supposed to. Even when enjoying ourselves, they come knocking on their own!

At this moment, the dishes were served one by one, and the drinks they ordered also arrived.

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow at Zhan Zhao – How come the dishes were served by their own people? This was clearly a restaurant chosen by you, Cat.

Zhan Zhao bit the straw and nodded, thinking it made sense, it was all thanks to him! After taking a sip, he found it too sweet and stuck out his tongue...

He wondered if the rat opposite him was too good-looking, affecting his sense of taste, and decided to focus and try another sip. However, after tasting it again, he still frowned – He tilted his head to look at the cup with passion fruit in it. Shouldn't it be sour, how much sugar did they put in?

Zhan Zhao asked if Bai Yutang's peach drink was sweet.

Bai Yutang said it was alright and offered it to Zhan Zhao to taste.

Zhan Zhao took a sip – Bai Yutang's drink was just right.

He looked at the two drinks with some confusion – It didn't make sense that the passion fruit was sweeter than the peach, did they spill a sugar jar while mixing?

Coincidentally, the waiter was serving drinks to the three Dong Group executives behind them. Seeing Zhan Zhao wave, he immediately came over.

Zhan Zhao looked at the menu and changed his drink order while glancing through the adjacent window to observe the three men behind them.

......

At the table behind them, three men were sitting: two were drinking alcohol, and one was having a soft drink.

The one drinking the soft drink looked younger, while the other two were older.

Based on their previous disruptive behaviour at the press conference, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang roughly recognised them.

The younger one was called Dong Fei, Dong Yuan's cousin. He was one of the few relatives close to Dong Yuan and served as the vice president of the Dong Group.

The other two older men were senior figures in the Dong Group...

The Dong Group wasn't built in a day by Dong Yuan alone. Besides the core part he started from scratch, there were also several other departments merged into it. The two older men managed the film and television sector and operations, respectively, both holding real power.

After Wang Meiyun inherited the company, she directly affected the interests of these people, so they naturally wanted to rebel. Everyone wanted to promote Dong Fei, he was quite competent, having followed Dong Yuan for so long and understanding the company's operations better than Wang Meiyun.

As soon as the three sat down, they began discussing company matters. From their conversation, it was evident that they had strong opinions about Wang Meiyun.

The two older men didn't have personal grudges against Wang Meiyun, they just felt she was clueless about operations and company management. They also criticised her for getting involved in lawsuits involving human lives. Plus, seeing her in the news recently, they thought she was too impulsive. If the company was handed over to her, wouldn't she ruin it in just a few days?

As for Dong Fei, he had very strong opinions about Wang Meiyun, bordering on prejudice, and his words were quite harsh.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned. Dong Fei kept mocking Wang Meiyun's appearance, suggesting she was pretending to be a fox spirit with her looks and figure, wondering how Dong Yuan could fancy her.

The two older men reminded him that even if they ousted Wang Meiyun, there was still Anna.

Dong Fei shook his head, "Where are all these destined women coming from these days? Dong Yuan, if he wanted a wife, he wouldn't choose either of them."

The two older men thought Anna was quite attractive and her temperament was good, moreover, she already had a child.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang kept "eavesdropping" on the three men while eating, finding them quite gossipy and chatty.

"I grew up with Dong Yuan," Dong Fei seemed to have a different opinion, "Dong Yuan wouldn't marry someone just because she's pretty. If he wanted to marry, he would choose someone beneficial to his career!"

"Because Anna is wealthy? That’s right, her family background is also good." The two older men had obviously done some research on Anna.

"Rubbish." Dong Fei disdainfully shook his head, "I know her well. A friend of mine was in the same band as her. Do you know she's a lunatic? Her family cut ties with her long ago, she relies on the money left by her ex-husband. What's the use of money? Doesn't Dong Yuan have money? Moreover, she's got three deaths on her hands! Dong Yuan is the most timid, would he dare date such a 'black widow'? Would he?!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance when they heard this – Three deaths?!

Thinking back, Anna had caused the death of a maid when she was young, and her first husband died when she grew up... that was two deaths. Adding Dong Yuan made it three. But according to Dong Fei's description, it seemed Dong Yuan wasn't counted among the three deaths... so who was the third victim?

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt they might have missed some information.

Zhan Zhao took out his phone, intending to ask Eugene.

Just then, he felt someone bump into the back of his chair.

Zhan Zhao was momentarily stunned, wondering if someone was adjusting their chair behind him.

Just as he was about to turn around, he sensed something was off...

Across from him, Bai Yutang also stood up, and there seemed to be some commotion in the restaurant.

Zhan Zhao heard a series of glassware shattering behind him and saw someone collapse at his feet. Looking down, he saw Dong Fei clutching his own neck with both hands, eyes wide open, face contorted, and foaming at the mouth.

Several people in the restaurant stood up to look, including the two older men who came with Dong Fei, all frozen in shock.

Bai Yutang quickly went over to check Dong Fei's condition, but by then, Dong Fei had already passed away.

Bai Yutang immediately started CPR on him, while Zhan Zhao dialled the emergency number on his phone.

But it was too late.

Bai Yutang stood up, stopping a waiter who was about to rush over and showed his identification.

Zhan Zhao frowned as he looked at the body at his feet. Suddenly, he noticed something had fallen from Dong Fei's pocket, landing right beside his feet...

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: April 24, 2024 by Angel

Edited: October 18, 2024 by Soojin